The USA Ladies Are World Cup Champions Once Again



On Sunday, US and Netherlands Women's National Teams graced the pitch at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, France, for the final match of the Women's World Cup. The US was hoping to win back-to-back World Cups for the first time in their history, while the Netherlands was looking to end the US Women's Team's dominance over international soccer. The game, however, turned out exactly the way the US team hoped for: domination in possession, plenty of shots on goal, and of course, outstanding play from some the team's mega-stars. The US Women's Team are champions of the world once again; now it is time they get the respect they deserve.

The final match played out well. The US commanded the game with 54% possession against the Netherlands' 46%. The real action came in the second half, after the US was awarded a penalty by VAR. Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring at the 61st minute, followed by Rose Lavelle's goal at the 69th minute. The Netherlands only had five total shots, and only one of those was on target. The US had seventeen shots. Compared to the Dutch, the American team look more solid and comfortable on the big stage. Those US ladies were composed, professional, and overall outstanding soccer players. Rose Lavelle earned her Bronze Ball award rightfully, and Rapinoe is a lock for the Golden Boot. It wouldn't surprise me if Alyssa Naeher won the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper of the tournament. The women's team has the backing of the whole country now and they deserve all the praise in the world.

If anyone is a fan of soccer, they know that there is serious talent all over the world on the men's and women's side. Yet, at the club level, the men's game is getting the most publicity and has a much larger following. For years, professional women footballers have been trying to bring awareness to their game and about social issues like the gender wage gap. Megan Rapinoe was just one player who vocalized complaints about how the men's teams are treated vastly different than the women's; it was for this reason that the women's Ballon D'Or winner (considered the MVP of European club football) Ada Hegerberg (Norway; OL Lyon Feminine) chose not to play for the Norwegian Women's Team at the World Cup. She felt passionate about inequalities between the men's and women's teams. With this World Cup win, the US ladies have reopened the discussion about whether these gaps between men's and women's teams should exist.

The US Women's Team's World Cup win is a start to building a more global presence to women's football. They proved that they are just as good as world-class male players and their club play is just as exciting as the men's game. FIFA's slogan is "Football is For Everyone," so it is time they find ways to alleviate some of the inequalities between men's and women's football. Soccer as a sport will only continue to grow. The US ladies are helping it grow in the States, so they should be treated like the champions they are.

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